Berkeley County home marred in fire

MARTINSBURG – Local fire companies responded to a house fire at 496 Olympic Drive in Berkeley County on Friday afternoon.

The emergency call came in at approximately 3 p.m. from a neighbor who saw the fire, according to assistant chief Travis Schroades of Baker Heights Fire Company.

Schroades said the residents were not home at the time of the fire.

Firefighters from Baker Heights, Bedington, Shepherdstown, Hedgesville and the Air National Guard 167th Airlift Wing responded to the fire, as did the Berkeley County Ambulance Authority.

“It took us about half an hour to 40 minutes to get it under control,” Schroades said on the scene. “When the first company arrived on the scene, they had fire showing through the roof. … Now, we’re just working on overhaul and making sure everything’s completely out and removing debris.”

According to Schroades, no injuries were reported.

The fire resulted in severe property damage to the home and its contents, but Schroades said an estimate for the damage is not yet available.

Schroades said the cause of the fire has not yet been discovered.

“Once we get the fire completely under control … we’ll start to go through and try to find the cause of the fire,” Schroades said.